At least 11 people, including two children and three women, are reported to have been killed in the Yemeni city of Taiz, during a clash between government forces and opposition supporters.
According to medical officials, dozens of others were wounded, including civilians, during clashes.
The upsurge in fighting coincides with the visit to Yemen of a United Nations envoy, Jamal Benomar, who is pressing for a transition of power to end months of conflict.
At least 11 people, including two children and three women, are reported to have been killed in the Yemeni city of Taiz, during a clash between government forces and opposition supporters
Protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule began in January.
Taiz, Yemen’s second biggest city, is about 200km (120 miles) south of the capital, Sanaa. It has been a hotbed of anti-Saleh protests in recent weeks.
Residents of Taiz say the latest fighting began during protests on Thursday, when one person was killed and several others were injured.
The security forces then began shelling two residential neighbourhoods during the night.
The two districts, Zaid al-Moshki and al-Rawda, along with Freedom Square, have been at the forefront of anti-government demonstrations in Taiz.
Reports say three women and two children, including a nine-year-old boy, were among the 11 killed on Friday.
In Sanaa, Yemeni capital, tens of thousands of anti-Saleh protesters attended prayers on a main road. Some demanded the president be tried for what they called his crimes against the Yemeni people.
Separate prayers were held by thousands of Ali Abdullah Saleh supporters in the capital. There were no reports of violence in Sanaa.
Taiz, Yemen's second biggest city, is about 200km (120 miles) south of the capital, Sanaa
Jamal Benomar, the UN envoy, arrived in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Thursday and has been meeting government and opposition figures to press for an end to the violence.
A UN spokesman said Jamal Benomar was there to seek “an inclusive transition process that meets the needs and aspirations of all Yemenis”.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh has accepted a peace plan put forward by Gulf Arab countries, under which he will step down in return for immunity from prosecution.
However, Ali Abdullah Saleh has repeatedly failed to implement the agreement or follow through on his promise to leave office.
Meanwhile, clashes have escalated between his supporters and anti-Saleh factions, which include Yemeni tribal groups and army defectors.
The UN Security Council has called on Ali Abdullah Saleh end the violence against protesters and step down immediately.
Eating plenty of cereals and whole grains could reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer, a study published in British Medical Journal says.
Scientists from Imperial College London found that for every 10 g a day increase in fibre intake, there was a 10% drop in the risk of bowel cancer.
Researchers’ analysis of 25 previous studies found that fruit and vegetable fibre did not reduce risk.
A cancer charity called for more detailed research on the quantity and type of fibre to eat.
Eating fibre and whole grains is known to help protect against cardiovascular disease, but experts say that any link with colorectal cancer is less clear because studies have not had consistent results.
Reviewing the results of all previous observational studies in this area, researchers in London, Leeds and the Netherlands analysed data provided by almost 2 million people.
Eating plenty of cereals and whole grains could reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer, a study published in British Medical Journal says
Researchers’ conclusion, published in the BMJ, is that increasing fibre intake, particularly cereal fibre and whole grains, helps prevent colorectal cancer.
Whole grains include foods such as whole grain breads, brown rice, cereals, oatmeal and porridge.
Dagfinn Aune, lead study author and research associate in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at Imperial College London, said their analysis found a linear association between dietary fibre and colorectal cancer.
“The more of this fibre you eat the better it is. Even moderate amounts have some effect.”
Adding 3 servings (90 g per day) of whole grains to diets was linked to a 20% reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer, researchers said.
Cancer Research UK data shows that the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the UK is estimated to be one in 14 (6.9%) for men, and one in 19 for women (5.4%).
However, the study said there was no evidence that fibre in fruit and vegetables played a part in reducing risk.
A previous study which showed a reduction in risk with high intake of fruit and vegetables suggests that compounds other than fibre in fruit and vegetables could account for this result, said the authors.
The researchers also said that the health benefits of increasing fibre and whole grains intake was not restricted to colorectal cancer.
“It is also likely to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, overweight and obesity, and possibly overall mortality,” they said.
Mark Flannagan, chief executive of Beating Bowel Cancer, said the research supported the charity’s current advice.
“These results support what we already know about the link between dietary fibre and a reduced risk of bowel cancer, although more work is needed to clarify the quantity and types of fibre we should be eating to reduce risk.
“We recommend that people eat a healthy balanced diet that includes plenty of dietary fibre, such as grains, cereals, fruit and vegetables to reduce the risk of developing bowel cancer.
“It is encouraging to know that simple changes to your diet and lifestyle could help protect you from the UK’s second biggest cancer killer.”
Yinka Ebo, senior health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said the review added weight to the evidence that fibre protects against bowel cancer.
“It shows that certain sources of fibre, such as cereal and whole grains, are particularly important.
“Eating plenty of fibre is just one of many things you can do to lower your risk of developing the disease, along with keeping a healthy weight, being physically active, cutting down on alcohol, red and processed meat, and not smoking.”
In an accompanying editorial in the BMJ, Professor Anne Tjonneland from the Danish Cancer Society, said whole grain products should be made more appealing to shoppers.
“To increase the intake of these foods in Western countries, the health benefits must be actively communicated and the accessibility of whole grain products greatly improved, preferably with a simple labelling system that helps consumers to choose products with high whole grain contents.”
Cancer of the large bowel, also known as colorectal cancer, is a common form of cancer in developed countries – but occurs much less frequently in the developing world.
Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale in Lausanne have been created a real “mighty mouse” with double the normal muscle strength while looking for ways to treat age-related diseases.
According to some tests, the mouse has not only bigger muscles but, could run for twice as long on the treadmill.
Swiss researchers created the “super strong marathon mice” by tweaking a gene and found without it the rodents’ muscles bulked up and they had more energy.
If the effects the scientists found could be replicated in humans, they believe it could lead to therapies against muscle-wasting in the elderly which can lead to falls and broken bones, as well as incurable diseases such as muscular dystrophy.
However, there are also ethical concerns that such therapies could be used to give athletes an unfair advantage.
Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale in Lausanne have been created a real "mighty mouse" with double the normal muscle strength while looking for ways to treat age-related diseases
Swiss scientists found that a tiny inhibitor – called NCoR1 – may be responsible for how strong and powerful our muscles are.
They would then work on developing a drug which could produce a similar effect.
By genetically modifying mice to stop it working, the scientists suppressed the enzyme which normally stops muscle from building up.
Taking it out did not appear to have any adverse effects, according to their study published today in the journal Cell.
The “marathon mice” were able to run faster, longer and cover twice as much distance as unmodified mice and were also better at putting up with cold conditions.
By looking at the muscles under the microscope, researchers found they were denser and their tissue contained higher numbers of mitochondria – the “batteries” that power cells.
Similar results were found when the same experiment was repeated on worms. The researchers believe the modification could potentially be applied to humans.
Study author Professor Johan Auwerx said: “This could be used to combat muscle weakness in the elderly, which leads to falls and contributes to hospitalizations.
“In addition, we think that this could be used as a basis for developing a treatment for genetic muscular dystrophy. If these results are confirmed in humans, there’s no question it will attract interest from athletes as well as medical experts.
“It will be important for anti-doping authorities to monitor that these treatments are not used.”
Demi Moore was seen clutching an energy drink as she stepped out in Beverly Hills one day before her birthday, while Ashton Kutcher has found himself embroiled in another scandal.
Demi Moore, who turns 49 today, had covered her thin frame in a zigzag print knit cardigan and a pair of brown trousers which hung loosely around her slim legs.
Demi Moore was seen clutching an energy drink as she stepped out in Beverly Hills one day before her birthday, while Ashton Kutcher has found himself embroiled in another scandal
It’s no surprise Demi Moore looked under strain after Ashton Kutcher stepped into the middle of a media storm following an ill-advised late night tweet.
Ashton Kutcher, 33, tweeted a remark regarding football team coach Joe Paterno, who has been embroiled in a child sexual abuse scandal.
And following the storm of protest surrounding his apparent support of the controversial football coach Ashton Kutcher handed over the control of his account to his management team.
Scores of Twitter users blasted Ashton Kutcher for his unguarded remarks.
On a long explanatory post on his blog, Ashton Kutcher wrote: “Up until today I have posted virtually every one of my tweets on my own, but clearly the platform has become too big to be managed by a single individual.
“While I will continue to express myself through @Aplusk I’m going to turn the management of the feed over to my team at Katalyst Media to ensure the quality of it’s content.”
Ashton Kutcher stepped into the middle of a media storm following an ill-advised late night tweet
The Two And A Half Men star went on to explain that he did not have the full facts before posting the tweet about the acking of Pennsylvania State University coach Joe Paterno.
At about 12:30 a.m. yesterday morning, Ashton Kutcher wrote on his official account: “How do you fire Jo Pa? #insult #noclass as a hawkeye [the University of Iowa football team] fan I find it in poor taste.”
Within minutes the term Jo Pa, a misspelt nickname of the legendary football coach, was trending on the social networking site as thousands of users ripped into Ashton Kutcher.
Ashton Kutcher comment came after the news that Joe Paterno, Penn State head coach for 46 years, had been fired for allegedly covering up sexual abuse by the school’s former football defence coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
As she turns 49 today, Demi Moore posted a picture of herself on Twitter last night just a few hours before midnight
The actor’s timing of his remarks brought him back in the public spotlight for the wrong reasons and comes in the wake of a sex scandal after he was accused of cheating on Demi Moore over the weekend of their wedding anniversary.
Sara Leal, 22, claimed she had bedded the actor after spending a night partying in his hot tub in San Diego with her friends.
Demi Moore has decided to stand by her husband amid the allegations though the strain of recent weeks has clearly taken its toll on her.
Commentators have noted that Demi Moore has lost considerable weight and has appears to have aged considerably following the claims.
Oscar icon, Billy Crystal is replacing Eddie Murphy as 2012 Academy Awards host.
Billy Crystal, 63, just announced via Twitter that he will be taking the helm at Oscar’s ceremony, just 24 hours after after Eddie Murphy dropped out of hosting duties.
“Am doing the Oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when I pick up my prescriptions,” Billy Crystal tweeted yesterday.
“Looking forward to the show.”
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak said in a statement:
“I’m thrilled to welcome Billy back to the Oscar stage.
“He’s a comic legend and Oscar icon, and it feels good to have him back where he belongs.”
Oscar icon, Billy Crystal is replacing Eddie Murphy as 2012 Academy Awards host
Billy Crystal last hosted the show back in 2004 and received a standing ovation after appearing for a brief segment in 2011 ceremony which was hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco.
The news comes after Brett Ratner, who was due to produce 2012 awards, withdrew as the show’s producer, after apologizing for a gay slur he used during a screening of his latest film.
Brett Ratner’s friend and Tower Heist star Eddie Murphy then resigned from his role of host.
They were set to work together on the February 26 TV broadcast of the Oscars after working together on the action movie.
Billy Crystal, 63, just announced via Twitter that he will be taking the helm at Oscar's ceremony, just 24 hours after after Eddie Murphy dropped out of hosting duties
Renowned film producer Brian Glazer has been drafted in as a replacement for Brett Ratner to produce the awards ceremony.
Of Billy Crystal’s return, Brian Grazer said yesterday: “Like so many others, I’ve been eager to see Billy host again. It’s very gratifying that he agreed to do it with Don and me at the helm.”
Tom Sherak, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, had told TheWrap on Wednesday that he was leaving the choice of Oscar host down to the producer.
“You hire the producers, they figure out what they want the show to be. Then they pick who they want to be hosts,” he said.
Tom Sherak also hinted that he believed Billy Crystal was still in the running and is not too old to present the show.
“No. Bob Hope did the Oscars in his sixties,” Tom Sherak said.
Rebecca Woodruff, a four-year-old girl from Houston, Texas, died after her mother backed over her on their home’s driveway.
The mother, Olinda Woodruff, made the tragic discovery on – her daughter Rebecca, four, lying in the driveway after she had been hit.
Olinda Woodruff quickly called 911 and pleaded for an ambulance – but a fire truck came instead.
While an ambulance did arrive later, it was too late. Rebecca Woodruff was dead.
What makes the tragedy made even more heartbreaking is the possibility Rebecca Woodruff’s life may have been saved had the proper response arrived in time.
Rebecca Woodruff, a four-year-old girl from Houston, Texas, died after her mother backed over her on their home's driveway
In a statement to the Houston Chronicle, Olinda Woodruff said she believed “too much precious time was lost” to save her daughter.
Olinda Woodruff added: “My wish is that the system is changed in time to save the next child who needs it.”
The fire engine was sent in accordance with a new protocol enacted in August to limit the number of ambulances sent when not needed.
While all firefighters have EMT training, fire trucks are not equipped with the same life-saving equipment or the ability to transport a victim to the hospital.
The girl’s father, John Woodruff, told Click2Houston.com: “In a situation as traumatic as this, it seems like the ambulance should have come right away.”
Houston fire Chief Terry Garrison told the Houston Chronicle that an internal probe would determine whether dispatchers acted appropriately.
Ten days after Rebecca Woodruff’s death on October 21, the department instituted a “makeover” of the policy, allowing first responders to “upgrade” the call while en route based on new information about the emergency.
City Council member Mike Sullivan, an opponent of the policy, said the change was a step in the right direction.
Mike Sullivan told the Houston Chronicle: “That’s an improvement because prior to October 31, the firefighter could not do that.
“He had to literally arrive on the scene, make an assessment, and then call for an ambulance.”
The teenager who police claim raped a girl of five in a McDonald’s Playland in Anderson Township, Ohio, has been brought to the police station after his parents saw the CCTV pictures.
The young boy, who is just 13, is said to have touched the little girl before making her touch him in an inappropriate way.
The teenager then walked out of the McDonald’s as the victim burst into tears and went to her grandmother who was waiting nearby “with the look on her face as if something was wrong”.
According to the police report, the boy had climbed into the play area specifically to molest her.
The teenager who police claim raped a girl of five in a McDonald's Playland in Anderson Township, Ohio, has been brought to the police station after his parents saw the CCTV pictures
The sheriff’s office said the teen has been charged with one count of rape and is being held at the local Juvenile Detention Center to await further proceedings.
The incident happened at a McDonald’s in Anderson Township on October 29th but police only just released the details this week.
The girl was inside the indoor play area on her own around 9:00 p.m. when she was approached. The boy left moments before she reported the assault.
The woman who called 911 told police: “There was an incident in the play area with an older child and a younger child which may have involved some sexual contact.”
Police revealed that their suspect was wearing a University of Cincinnati jacket, is between 5 feet and 5’6″ and 120 to 130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
Hours later his parents brought the teenager in where he admitted to the crime, according to the police spokesman.
The boy was captured on CCTV inside the McDonald’s as he entered and left.
Parents of other children reacted with horror and said it was “obscene” what had happened.
McDonald’s customer Margo Mather said: “I don’t want my kids going over there just playing by themselves.”
Heather Kenyon, another customer, added: “It’s frightening. It have kids and I take them there all the time.
“I’ve never had a problem, ever. Usually there’s parents and supervised kids and its really a great place for when its winter time and you’ve got to let your kids run off all their energy.
“Its scary…my son’s six so it could easily have been him.”
Xavier Sullivan, 17, said: “It’s just crazy somebody would do that, especially here. I don’t understand why you would ever make somebody do that.”
Jason Pickard, who owns the McDonald’s franchise, was working with police to find out what happened.
Jason Pickard said in a statement: “The safety and well-being of my customers, especially children, is extremely important.
“I’m taking this matter very seriously and fully cooperating with authorities in their investigation.”
Veterans Day started on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
Veterans Day was first called Armistice Day, declared to mark the end of World War I hostilities at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 .
American Congress gave it that name in 1926, though it didn’t become a national holiday for a dozen more years.
In 1954, the holiday became known as Veterans Day when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation making it so in order to honor veterans of all U.S. wars.
Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday in October in 1968 by Congress, but that was reversed in 1978 when it became obvious that Americans wanted the holiday celebrated November 11.
Veterans Day is often confused with Memorial Day because they are similar in intent, but not identical. Memorial Day honors America’s war dead, while Veterans Day honors all American veterans, living and dead, and has a special emphasis on thanking living veterans for their service to the country.
Veterans Day was first called Armistice Day, declared to mark the end of World War I hostilities at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918
Facts about Veterans Day:
*There is no apostrophe in Veterans Day.
*In 1921, the United States laid to rest the remains of a World War I American soldier — his name “known but to God” – in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on a hillside overlooking Washington, D.C. It became known as the “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” and was meant to symbolize reverence for the American veteran. Today it is known as the “Tomb of the Unknowns.”
*At the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery, at 11 a.m. each November 11, a color guard composed of members of each of the military branches renders honors to America’s war dead. The U.S. president or a representative -today it was Vice President Joe Biden -places a wreath at the tomb and a bugler sounds taps.
Here are some other facts, courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau:
Veterans
21.8 million = The number of military veterans in the United States in 2010.
1.6 million = The number of female veterans in 2010.
2.4 million = The number of black veterans in 2010.
Additionally, 1.2 million veterans were Hispanic; 265,000 were Asian; 156,000 were American Indian or Alaska Native; 28,000 were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and 17.5 million were non-Hispanic white. (The numbers for blacks, Asians, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, and non-Hispanic whites cover only those reporting a single race.)
9 million = The number of veterans 65 and older in 2010.
At the other end of the age spectrum, 1.7 million were younger than 35.
When Veterans Served
7.6 million = Number of Vietnam-era veterans in 2010. 35% of all living veterans served during this time (1964-1975).
In addition, 4.8 million served during the Gulf War (representing service from August 2, 1990, to present);
2.1 million in World War II (1941-1945);
2.6 million in the Korean War (1950-1953);
and 5.5 million in peacetime only.
49,500 = Number of living veterans in 2010 who served during the Vietnam era and both Gulf War eras and no other period.
Other living veterans in 2010 who served during three wars:
54,000 served during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam era.
Living veterans in 2010 who served during two wars and no other period:
837,000 served during both Gulf War eras.
211,000 served during both the Korean War and the Vietnam era.
147,000 served during both World War II and the Korean War.
Where Veterans Live
3 = Number of states with 1 million or more veterans in 2010. These states were California (2 million), Florida (1.6 million) and Texas (1.6 million).
14.1% = percent of people 18 and older in Alaska who were veterans in 2010.
The percent of the 18 and older population who were veterans was 12% or more in Maine, Montana, Virginia and Wyoming.
Veterans Education
26% = Percent of veterans 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree in 2010. In comparison, 28% of the total population had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
92% = Percent of veterans 25 and older with a high school diploma or higher in 2010, compared with 86% of the population as a whole.
Veterans Income
$35,367 = Annual median income of veterans, in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars, compared with $25,605 for the population as a whole.
Veterans On the Job
9.6 million = Number of veterans 18 to 64 in the labor force in 2010.
Veterans Disabilities
26% = Percent of veterans for whom poverty status is determined with a disability in 2010.
3.4 million = Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating. Of this number, 698,000 have a rating of 70% or higher. Severity of one’s disability is scaled from 0 to 100 percent and eligibility for compensation depends on one’s rating.
Veterans Voting
15.8 million = Number of veterans who voted in the 2008 presidential election. 71% of veterans cast a ballot in the presidential election.
12.4 million = Number of veterans who voted in the 2010 congressional election. 57% of veterans voted in the 2010 congressional election.
Tourists looking to test their nerves can choose to go to China to walk across a dazzling glass bridge suspended from a cliff face.
The oriental Skywalk is situated 4,700 ft above sea level on the side of the Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, China.
In order to keep the glass path clean, tourists are asked to put on shoe covers before passing.
The oriental Skywalk is situated 4,700 ft above sea level on the side of the Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, China
The 200 ft long bridge joins the west cliff at the Yunmeng Fairy Summit, the summit of Tianmen Mountain and Zhang Jiajie.
The pathway, built earlier in the summer echoes the glass-bottomed walkway at the Grand Canyon in the U.S.
Grand Canyon walkway is a 70 ft bridge is 4,000 ft above the natural wonder and allows tourists to look through 2.5 in of crystal-clear glass to the Canyon floor below.
The Tianmen mountain, literally translated as Heavenly Gate Mountain is so called because of a huge natural cave that occurs halfway up to the summit.
Situated in the Hunan Province, Its highest peak is around 5,000 ft above sea level and it is home to a wealth of rare species of plants.
The 200 ft long bridge joins the west cliff at the Yunmeng Fairy Summit, the summit of Tianmen Mountain and Zhang Jiajie
A 4-mile-long cable car was constructed in the park, which is said to be the longest of the same type in the world.
The futuristic glass walkway is a marked upgrade from another sky high mountain walkway located in the same province.
The Shifou Mountain located 82 miles away in Hunan Province offers sightseers a 3 ft-wide road made of wooden planks thousands of feet high.
When finished the “road”- which is the width of a dinner table – will stretch for 1.8 miles making it China’s longest sightseeing path.
Thanksgiving dinner and all the fixing cost rose 13% in 2011, the biggest jump since 1990.
Thanksgiving dinner now costs, on average, $49.20 to feed 10 people, up $5.73 from last year, according to an informal survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The biggest increase came from the cost of turkey, which is about 22% more expensive than it was last year.
A 16-pound turkey now costs an average of $21.60, compared with $17.70 in 2010.
The price per person for Thanksgiving dinner is about $4.93.
The American Farm Bureau Federation chalks up the price rise to stronger demand for poultry, not only in the U.S. but around the world.
Additionally, grocery stores are no longer willing to keep prices even in the face of rising costs.
Thanksgiving dinner now costs, on average, $49.20 to feed 10 people, up $5.73 from last year, according to an informal survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation
“Retailers are being more aggressive about passing on higher costs for shipping, processing and storing food to consumers,” said farm bureau senior economist John Anderson.
The menu includes enough turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk to feed 10 people – with leftovers.
The prices were compiled by volunteer shoppers who bought the ingredients in 35 states.
American Farm Bureau said their cost estimates were made without buying anything on sale, and savvy shoppers should be able to bring down the price in most areas.
Despite the big increase, American Farm Bureau insists that Thanksgiving dinner prices remain relatively stable, when adjusted for inflation.
“Although we’ll pay a bit more this year, on a per-person basis, our traditional Thanksgiving feast remains a better value than most fast-food value meals,” John Anderson said.
Still, the 13% price jump is the second-highest since the farm bureau began doing the Thanksgiving survey in 1986.
The biggest increase came in 1990, when the price of a meal jumped nearly 17% from 1989.
Thanksgiving dinner 2011 costs:
Item 2011 Price Difference
16-pound turkey $21.57 +$3.91
1 gallon milk $3.66 +$0.42
Pumpkin pie mix $3.03 +$0.41
Whipping cream $1.96 +$0.26
Cubed stuffing $2.88 +$0.24
Green peas $1.68 +$0.24
Dozen rolls $2.30 +$0.18
Sweet potatoes $3.26 +$0.07
Fresh cranberries $2.48 +$0.07
Pie shells $2.52 +$0.06
Misc. ingredients $3.10 -$0.12
Relish tray $0.76 -$0.01
TOTAL $49.20 +$5.73
The cost of Thanksgiving dinner has risen consistently since the American Farm Bureau Association began its survey:
Walmart Black Friday 2011 ad is whipping up Black Friday furor earlier than ever.
Walmart is getting an early start to Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. The discount retail giant released its Black Friday ad Thursday, announcing that this year the store’s doors will open at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night for discounts on home items, clothing, and toys. Electronics will go on sale two hours later, at midnight.
Among the items you can grab at 10 p.m. after your feast: a $67 ping pong table, a slew of DVDs for $1.96 apiece, and a 4-quart Crock-Pot for under $10 (regular price is closer to $25).
Perhaps as surprising as the deals is the timing of the ad for Walmart Black Friday 2011. Last year, Walmart didn’t announce its Black Friday deals until November 22, meaning this year’s revelations are coming a full 12 days earlier than before. But the early Walmart announcement is just the latest in a trend of stores getting an earlier and earlier start to the Black Friday rush: For the first time, Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic are opening their stores at midnight on Black Friday, joining Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Target, which have done it before.
Walmart Black Friday 2011 starts earlier than ever
“Thanksgiving night openings are much more common now,” says Dan de Grandpre, CEO of dealnews.com, a website that tracks sales at large retailers across the country.
“Deals are going to be much better at that time. But you have to get up earlier and earlier, or those stores will be picked over.”
The hubbub over the early Walmart announcement comes in the wake of projections for a fairly average holiday shopping season. Erik Johnson, an economist with IHS Global Insight, is predicting a 4.2% growth in overall holiday sales over last year.
“To put this in perspective, 2010 holiday sales were up 5.2% and 2009 sales were down 0.4%,” Erik Johnson says in e-mail.
Some are predicting more shoppers, however. According to Business News Daily, a recent consumer survey from the digital technology advertising company Social Vibe is projecting a 52% increase in the number of Black Friday shoppers from last year. That means longer lines and much bigger crowds, which may be part of the impetus for retailers to extend their hours.
However, Dan de Grandpre insists that bigger crowds don’t necessarily mean more buying.
“There will be a lot of window shopping,” he said.
“Participation in Black Friday will go up, but there will be more of a shift from in-store shopping into online shopping. The growth of online shopping has been many times higher than in-store shopping.”
Erik Johnson agrees: “E-commerce as a percentage of overall retail sales hit an all-time high in the second quarter of 2011, at 4.6%.”
Online retailers, too, are getting in on the Black Friday earlier than ever: Amazon.com has already launched a “Countdown to Black Friday” section of its site, with early discounts on a wide array of products including cameras, TVs, DVDs, and toys.
According to Dan de Grandpre, however, the pre-sales usually can’t hold a candle to the real thing.
“Stores use terms like Black Friday and Cyber Monday to draw in shoppers, but that doesn’t always mean good deals,” he says.
“I’d be skeptical of discounts that sound modest, or that have a range.”
Dan de Grandpre uses terms like “up to 30 percent off” as an example.
“Just because a store has a big sale doesn’t mean the specific items are all that cheap. Macy’s has a 20% off sale basically every Friday. It’s better to look at specific items for big discounts.”
Still, if you wanted to get a jump on the holiday rush this Veteran’s Day weekend, for instance, there are certain benefits.
“It’s a contrast of convenience and savings” versus the Black Friday rush, Dan de Grandpre says.
“Black Friday is not a fun day to shop. The sales reps are always frazzled, and people are aggressive. Of course, online sales sort of take away those convenience concerns, and a lot of online sales these days are identical to what’s in the store.”
And there are some decent deals to be found over the coming weekend. Home improvement retailer Lowe’s is offering deep discounts on major home appliances ($1,100 off a Wirlpool washer/dryer pair, for example), and competitor Home Depot is releasing its actual Black Friday prices this week.
You can also find bargains on clothing, at retailers like Kohl’s and JC Penney, which is offering a wide variety of discounts this weekend, most notably 50-60% discounts on diamond jewelry.
“Given the hassle, it’s not really worth getting up at 3 a.m. on Black Friday for a sweater,” Dan de Grandpre says.
“You want to go for a big ticket item, like a TV or a laptop.”
Passengers of a Flybe Dash 8 aircraft saw a wheel fall off just seconds after it took off from Exeter airport in UK.
The wheel plummeted to the ground just moments into the journey from Exeter to Newcastle.
The air traffic control alerted the pilot to what had occurred rather than those sitting in the window seats who saw it happen.
On taking the call the pilot immediately dispatched a senior air stewardess to investigate and it was at this point that the passengers told her what they had seen, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch report found.
Passengers of a Flybe Dash 8 aircraft saw a wheel fall off just seconds after it took off from Exeter airport in UK
The pilots of the Dash 8 aircraft then decided to seat the passengers more evenly around the plane and head back to Exeter using the “alternate landing gear extension” procedure.
The 58-year-old captain issued a Mayday to air traffic controllers and as the plane came into the airport the 39 passengers were told to adopt the brace position.
Before they headed back the co-pilot contacted the airline’s chief pilot by radio and it was agreed that the crew would use a left-wingdown technique ensuring the left mainwheels touched down on the runway first, with the remaining right mainwheel then being lowered onto the runway as gently as possible.
As it touched down, it veered to the left and the captain had to apply “significant amounts of right rudder” to hold the aircraft steady. He then used the emergency brake to bring the aircraft to a halt.
The passengers were then able to disembark through the front left door.
The AAIB report said the reason why the wheel came off was because its outer bearing had seized and “consequential damage had allowed the wheel to detach”.
The report added that the captain had inspected the right main landing gear before the flight and had not noticed any abnormalities and “given the nature of the bearing failure, it is unlikely that any (abnormalities) would have been visible”.
The report stated: “Having an engineer on board, licensed on the aircraft type, was beneficial and his knowledge was used to good advantage.”
The AAIB said several safety actions had been initiated following the incident.
In 2009, a Cardiff-bound Dash 8 aircraft, also operated by Flybe, was forced to make an emergency landing at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex.
The aircraft, which was flying in from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, with 46 passengers on board, had to put down early following a suspected smoke problem.
A lawsuit has claimed that the retired boxer Oscar De La Hoya threw a depraved, cross-dressing, drug-driven orgy at New York’s Ritz Carlton Hotel.
New York model Angelica Marie Cecora, 25, says Oscar De La Hoya cavorted around in women’s underwear and went crazy with cocaine and sex toys, intimidating her and her friend when they tried to leave.
This is the second time Oscar De La Hoya has been accused of wearing women’s underwear.
The first woman to do so, Milana Dravnel, was rumoured to have been paid $20 million to go away in 2008.
New York model Angelica Marie Cecora, 25, says Oscar De La Hoya cavorted around in women’s underwear and went crazy with cocaine and sex toys, intimidating her and her friend when they tried to leave
Oscar De La Hoya contacted Angelica Marie Cecora in March, through her modelling website, according to the suit.
The sportsman said he had just come back from a trip to Iraq, where he had been visiting the troops, and wanted to relax, following the stint “without alcohol or women”, the suit claims.
Angelica Marie Cecora says Oscar De la Hoya told her his name was Thomas Crown, like the millionaire art thief played by Pierce Brosnan in the 1999 film “The Thomas Crown Affair”.
She only discovered his real name during dinner, when she saw his credit card, she said.
Back up in his room Oscar De La Hoya revealed his cross-dressing fetish, she claims.
“He started to put my stuff on, my underwear. I had a skirt with me. He put that on,” Angelica Marie Cecora said.
“It was beyond kinky,” she told The New York Post.
“Things that I don’t even know how to explain were done with him.”
Angelica Marie Cecora told the New York Post that Oscar De La Hoya was tiny and fit into her underwear perfectly.
They had sex and Oscar De La Hoya ordered drugs to the room, she claims.
The retired boxer told the model that he loved Charlie Sheen and kept shouting the actor’s catchphrase “Winning!”
Angelica Marie Cecora later summoned her Russian roommate, to join them, she claimed.
A lawsuit has claimed that the retired boxer Oscar De La Hoya threw a depraved, cross-dressing, drug-driven orgy at New York’s Ritz Carlton Hotel (photo from 2007)
At Oscar De La Hoya’s suggestion, the other woman, a dancer, brought sex toys to the romp.
But when the girls grew tired and tried to sleep he allegedly became persistent.
“We locked him out of his own room and made him sleep in the living room,” Angelica Marie Cecora said.
“He came in the room about four times, trying to crawl in bed with us, to the point that me and her screamed at him, <<Go away, Oscar. Otherwise we’re leaving, and it’s not going to be pretty>>.”
In the morning, Oscar De La Hoya was gone but the girls were stuck with a bill for nearly $1,500.
They left without paying but Oscar De La Hoya’s manager later tried to settle the bill with her.
The lawsuit alleges emotional distress, false imprisonment, assault and battery,
Two months after their night of passion, Oscar De La Hoya went to rehab for substance abuse.
Angelica Marie Cecora’s lawyer, Tony Evans, called the case “a sad example of abuse of power”.
Tony Evans told the New York Post: “Clearly, my client was intimidated and abused by Mr De La Hoya’s abuse of his celebrity power, his monetary power and his tremendous physical power and presence.
“It’s never OK to dehumanize and intimidate people, as was done here.”
A lawyer for Oscar De La Hoya, Judd Burstein, told the New York Post he had been “unable to reach my client for comment”.
Julia Biryukova, the mother of 2-year-old missing toddler Sky Metalwala from Bellevue, Washington, didn’t run out of gas on the day her son disappeared, a discovery that contradicts what she has previously told investigators, police said yesterday.
Julia Biryukova has told police that her son, Sky Metalwala, vanished Sunday in Bellevue when she left him sleeping alone in her unlocked car after it ran out of gas.
The woman and her 4-year-old daughter walked to get gas, she said, and when they returned an hour later, the boy was gone.
But investigators have found that there was enough gas in the car to run a considerable distance, Bellevue police Maj. Mike Johnson said Wednesday afternoon.
Police haven’t ruled out some other mechanical problem with the car.
Investigators continue to receive tips from the public, but none has been helpful to the investigation, including a few people wondering if there could be a connection to a TV show aired Saturday, the day before Sky Metalwala was reported missing.
An episode of “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit'”about a missing child was “strikingly similar in nature” to this real-life mystery, Mike Johnson said.
In that episode, a mother claims her car was stolen, along with the child inside of it, when she went into a convenience store for diapers.
Julia Biryukova has told police that her son, Sky Metalwala, vanished Sunday in Bellevue when she left him sleeping alone in her unlocked car after it ran out of gas, but investigators have found that there was enough gas in the car to run a considerable distance
Mike Johnson has repeatedly asserted that Julia Biryukova, or someone close to her, knows his fate, but no one is speaking up, even as hope for finding him alive fades.
“The public, I’m sure, is as frustrated as we are in the fact that mom isn’t willing to come in and provide a polygraph,” he told a news conference.
“To be quite honest, that looks suspicious and we’re puzzled by that.”
Mike Johnson said Julia Biryukova’s story has become less and less plausible as police have tried and failed to find any evidence that supports the facts as she presented them.
He emphasized, however, that Julia Biryukova remains cooperative in other ways, by answering every police question through her attorney, driving police along the route she drove and then walked, and allowing complete access to her home and car.
“We want to believe Julia. We want to help her find her missing child,” Mike Johnson said.
Mike Johnson revealed that Julia Biryukova said she was taking the boy to a hospital because he didn’t feel well, even though she left her purse, wallet and identification at home.
It wasn’t clear how she expected to get gas for the car or have her son treated without the items, he said.
Sky Metalwala’s disappearance came amid a bitter divorce and custody fight between Julia Biryukova and the boy’s father, Solomon Metalwala.
During a tough mediation session that lasted about 12 hours last week, the parties reached a tentative agreement that would allow Solomon Metalwala to have some visitation with Sky and his older sister.
But two days later – and two days before she reported her son missing – Julia Biryukova decided to pull out of the agreement, Solomon Metalwala’s divorce attorney, D. Michael Tomkins, said Wednesday.
In a letter sent by her attorney, Julia Biryukova insisted that everyone at the mediation session had been against her and the settlement was unfair, the lawyer said.
The children didn’t attend the marathon session, and it’s possible they were left home alone for the entire time, raising the possibility that Sky could have become dehydrated, D. Michael Tomkins said.
Papers filed in the divorce say that Biryukova suffered from “severe”obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Solomon Metalwala wrote in a declaration that she would frequently go on 10-hour cleaning binges during which she wouldn’t even feed the children, but a doctor reported that her diagnosis did not interfere with her ability to care for the kids.
Mike Johnson said Julia Biryukova acknowledged having a history of leaving the children home alone for extended periods of time. Police know whether she did so during the lengthy mediation, but they won’t release that information, Mike Johnson said.
Investigators on Wednesday were focusing on processing the car for forensic evidence.
They also were giving voluntary polygraph exams to Solomon Metalwala and several of his relatives and taking DNA samples to match with DNA evidence found at Julia Biryukova’s apartment.
Mike Johnson said the tenor of the investigation has changed because they’ve run out of options for searching for the child.
He denied media reports that police were search landfills or garbage transfer stations, but did not rule out that possibility if evidence indicates they should go there.
If Sky Metalwala was in fact left in the car, it wouldn’t have been the first time.
When the boy was 3 months old, his parents left him in their SUV in a Target parking lot for 55 minutes on a 27-degree day, court records showed.
The parents came out of the store to get the boy only after police arrived and asked for the vehicle’s owner to be paged.
Redmond police cited both parents for reckless endangerment in the December 2009 incident. However, the case was dismissed early this year after the pair completed a year of probation, 40 hours of community service and a 10-week parenting class.
Christy Wilt and Kelly Chaffins, two teachers at Miami Trace Middle School have allegedly been caught calling a 14-year-old girl with special needs “dumb” and “lazy”, after she recorded them.
The girl’s parents, from Washington Court House, Ohio, feared their daughter was being bullied, they hid a tape recorder in her clothing.
The parents were stunned to hear teacher Christy Wilt, 30, and her aide Kelly Chaffins, 46 allegedly poking fun at the teenager’s weight and forcing her to run on a treadmill.
Kelly Chaffins, who had worked at the school since August 2008, was asked to resign by the district after her comments came to light.
Kelly Chaffins, who had worked at the school since August 2008, was asked to resign by the district after her comments came to light
But Christy Wilt still remains at the school, after the officials claimed her involvement “did not meet what the educational aide had done”.
The recordings, obtained by WBNS-TV News, were made over four days in April.
“Don’t you want to do something about that belly?” Kelly Chaffins is claimed to have said to the student.
The student responds: “Yes.”
“Well, evidently you don’t because you don’t do anything at home,” Kelly Chaffins says.
“You sit at home and watch TV.”
In another moment, Kelly Chaffins allegedly asks the student why she did not know an answer to a question. When the student responds “because I didn’t know”, the aide becomes abusive.
Kelly Chaffins says: “Are you kidding me? Are you that dumb? You are that dumb? Oh my God. You are such a liar. No wonder you don’t have friends. No wonder nobody likes you.”
Christy Wilt still remains at the school, after the officials claimed her involvement "did not meet what the educational aide had done"
On another recording, Kelly Chaffins allegedly reacts after hearing the parents have complained.
Kelly Chaffins says: “They are ridiculous. Well, you know what? They are liars raising a liar.”
Christy Wilt adds: “They are manipulators.”
The student’s parents also claims the audio reveals the girl was made to run on a treadmill for 15 minutes after getting an answer wrong.
Kelly Chaffins is heard shouting at her while she runs.
Miami Trace Middle School claimed the use of the treadmill was designed to “refocus” students, rather than punish them.
The student, now a freshman at Miami Trace High School, told WBNS-TV that the abusive comments made her “pretty sad”.
When student’s father heard the “nasty, rude comments”, “all of it ripped my heart out”, he said.
Before the recordings, the family had complained to Miami Trace authorities.
Superintendent Dan Roberts sent an email in response, saying there was “absolutely no truth” in the matter, and the complaint was “bordering on slander and harrassment”.
Confronted by WBNS-TV, Dan Roberts added: “When we found audio proof we acted immediately.
“We were distressed, very upset and angry by what was on those tapes.”
Instead of resignation, Christy Wilt will undergo a probation period, as well as eight hours of mandatory classes in how to recognize child abuse and stop bullying.
The sudent’s parents sued, and the school district subsequently paid $300,000 in damages.
The family’s attorney Dan Modarski said: “We were quite frankly shocked and disgusted with what we heard. What’s shocking to me is that there’s one teacher that is still employed by the district.”
Garrett McNamara, an extreme Irish surfer is set to earn a place in the record books after riding a 90 foot wave in Portugal.
Garrett McNamara, 44, caught the monster wave during the ZON North Canyon Project in Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal.
The coastline is home to a deep water canyon which funnels large swells from the Atlantic Ocean, creating record-breaking waves such as the one Garrett McNamara rode.
Garrett McNamara told Surfer Today: “I feel so blessed and honoured to have been invited to explore this canyon and its special town. The waves here are such a mystery.”
The Irish surfer has been on a mission to catch the “biggest, best waves on the planet” for the past ten years, according to his website.
Garrett McNamara, an extreme Irish surfer is set to earn a place in the record books after riding a 90 foot wave in Portugal
Garrett McNamara had been surfing with fellow sportsmen Andrew Cotton and Al Mennie when he finally seized his chance earlier this month.
Al Mennie said: “Everything was perfect, the weather, the waves. Cotty and I surfed two big waves of about 60 feet and then, when Garrett was ready came a canyon wave of over 90 feet.
“The jet ski was the best place to see him riding the biggest wave I’ve ever seen. It was amazing.
“Most people would be scared but Garrett was controlling everything in the critical part of the wave. It was an inspiring ride by an inspiring surfer.”
According to Surfer Today, the biggest wave ever recorded by scientists measured 520 metres in height and occurred in Lituya Bay, a fjord located on the coast of Alaska.
The monster wave killed two fishermen as it slammed down into the bay on July 9, 1958.
The Guinness World Book of Records had officially registered Mike Parsons as holding the title for the highest wave surfed at 77 feet feat in Cortez Bank, 2001.
The previous unofficial record for the biggest wave ever surfed was held by Ken Bradshaw who rode an 85-footer in Hawaii’s Waimea Bay in 1998.
In 2007, Daredevil McNamara became one of the first people ever to ride a wave caused by a glacier.
The feat took place at the foot of the 400 feet Child’s Glacier, in south-central Alaska.
Joined by surfer Kealii Mamala, McNamara spent nearly three weeks camping at the foot of the glacier, waiting for the perfect wave.
After the spine-tingling deed was complete, McNamara said: “After the first day I just wanted to make it home alive.
“Not knowing where the glacier was going to fall, where the wave would emerge, or how big it would be.
“I spent most the time thinking about my family and wondering if I would survive to see them again. It was in a realm all of its own.”
Eddie Murphy resigned from his role as host of 2012 Academy Awards yesterday as the heavyweight producer Brian Grazer has been drafted in to produce next year’s Oscars.
Brian Grazer, the man behind Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind has stepped into Brett Ratner’s shoes after his resignation.
The Academy Awards president Tom Sherak announced the news yesterday:
“Brian Grazer is a renowned filmmaker who over the past 25 years has produced a diverse and extraordinary body of work. He will certainly bring his tremendous talent, creativity and relationships to the Oscars.”
Brian Grazer has scooped his own Oscar and in 2002 he won Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind.
Brett Ratner handed in his resignation from the event on Tuesday after apologizing for a gay slur he used during a screening of his latest film.
Eddie Murphy resigned from his role as host of 2012 Academy Awards
Eddie Murphy and Brett Ratner were set to work together on the February 26 ,2102, TV broadcast of the Oscars after working together on the recent action movie Tower Heist.
Curiously Brian Grazer was listed as a Producer on Tower Heist.
Brett Ratner stepped down two days ago after sparking outrage by using a gay slur at a screening his new action comedy.
A replacement host was not immediately named.
Academy president Tom Sherak said yesterday: “I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well.”
Brian Grazer, the man behind Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind has stepped into Brett Ratner’s shoes after his resignation
In the joint statement, Eddie Murphy added: “First and foremost I want to say that I completely understand and support each party’s decision with regard to a change of producers for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.
“I was truly looking forward to being a part of the show that our production team and writers were just starting to develop, but I’m sure that the new production team and host will do an equally great job.”
Tom Sherak said Brett Ratner “did the right thing for the Academy and for himself”.
“Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable.”
Brett Ratner was named Oscar producer in August along with TV veteran Don Mischer.
He issued an open letter explaining his resignation.
The letter read: “I called [the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president] Tom Sherak this morning and resigned as a producer of the 84th Academy Awards telecast.
“Being asked to help put on the Oscar show was the proudest moment of my career.
“But as painful as this may be for me, it would be worse if my association with the show were to be a distraction from the Academy and the high ideals it represents.”
Brett Ratner also apologized for using a gay slur during a question-and-answer session at a screening for his new film Tower Heist.
He used a pejorative term to describe gay men in response to a question asked at a screening of his latest movie.
Thousands of Penn State football fans took the streets last night at the announcement their long-term head coach Joe Paterno would be sacked with “immediate effect” for his role in the sex scandal which has rocked the university.
Penn State’s Board of Trustees also forced the resignation of president Graham Spanier after allegations that for years the school’s former football defence coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abused young boys.
Joe Paterno, 84, had said he would retire at the end of the 2011 season but the trustees stepped in to tell the legendary coach he will never take charge of another game following the allegations of a cover up.
Assistant coach Tom Bradley has been named interim football coach while Penn State provost and Rodney Erickson will become interim president.
The announcement came as it emerged that federal officials will investigate whether Penn State officials violated federal law by failing to report alleged sexual abuse by the school’s former football defense coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
Thousands of Penn State football fans took the streets last night at the announcement their long-term head coach Joe Paterno would be sacked with "immediate effect" for his role in the sex scandal which has rocked the university
Speaking at his house to a large gathering of students, Joe Paterno said: “Right now, I’m not the football coach, and that’s something I have to get used to.“
Joe Paterno then urged the students, who chanted “We want Joe back!”, to “go study” and “pray a little bit for those victims”. His wife Sue picked up a bouquet of flowers and addressed the crowd in tears, saying: “Thank you all for your support. We love you.”
Joe Paterno later issued a statement, which read: “I am disappointed with the Board of Trustees’ decision, but I have to accept it.”
Thousands of students flocked to the university’s Old Main building, in University Park, State College, to voice their displeasure at the decision to oust Joe Paterno, who has been head coach for nearly half a century.
Others gathered at Beaver Avenue, with student newspaper the Daily Collegian tweeting: “Can’t see any road that isn’t filled with students.”
They chanted “We love JoePa” and were described by onlookers as “emotional”. Lampposts and street signs were torn down and fireworks were set off. A bottle was thrown and hit a police officer in the head, the Daily Collegian reported.
A WTAJ news van was overturned on College Avenue to loud cheers. It led to an oil spill which required firefighters to clean up but when the arrived their truck was pelted with rocks.
Joe Paterno, one of the biggest names in American sports, had said in a statement today that the situation was a tragedy and “one of the great sorrows of my life”.
Joe Paterno and his wife Sue speaking at his house to a large gathering of students
The case of Jerry Sandusky, a former defensive coordinator accused of years of abuse of boys that allegedly was covered up by school officials, has shaken the university and its football programme.
The education department confirmed it is launching a probe into whether there were violations of a federal law called the Clery Act.
It requires colleges and universities to publish and distribute information about criminal offences – including sex offences – that are reported to school authorities.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement: “If it turns out that some people at the school knew of the abuse and did nothing or covered it up, that makes it even worse. Schools and school officials have a legal and moral responsibility to protect children and young people from violence and abuse.”
Joe Paterno said yesterday: “I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.”
Joe Paterno, in his 46th year as head coach of the Nittany Lions and winner of two national championships, has been criticized for not doing more to intervene when incidents of Sandusky’s abuse came to light in 2002.
“With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more,” Joe Paterno added.
Two former university officials – athletic director Tim Curley and finance official Gary Schultz – were charged on Monday with failing to alert police after they were told that Jerry Sandusky had been seen sodomising a young boy in the football locker room shower in 2002.
Tim Curley and Gary Schultz have also been charged with perjury in their statements to a grand jury.
They have stepped down from their positions at the university following an emergency meeting of the university’s Board of Trustees.
Lawyers for all three men have said their clients deny the charges and maintain their innocence.
Joe Paterno held a short meeting with coaching staff and players at the team’s football building today, which participants described to reporters as tearful and highly emotional.
Many students have rallied around the coach, who with his thick, black-rimmed glasses and blue windbreaker has been the face of Penn State football for generations.
On Tuesday night, several thousand gathered in front of Joe Paterno’s home before racing through downtown streets, often chanting football slogans, to the white-columned administration building to support their coach and defend the university.
Joe Paterno’s sacking comes as anticipation builds for Saturday, when Penn State is due to take an 8-1 record into its final home game of the season against the University of Nebraska.
A baby elephant and its mother were rescued by conservation workers after they got stuck in the mud of Kapani Lagoon in Zambia.
Conservation workers from South Luangwa Conservation Society, who normally have a policy of leaving nature to fend for itself as much as possible, unless the problem was created by humans.
A baby elephant and its mother were rescued by conservation workers after they got stuck in the mud of Kapani Lagoon in Zambia
On this occasion, however, they could not sit by and let the mother elephant and calf die in such a horrible way.
Before the rescue by conservation workers on the flats of the Kapani Lagoon, the baby elephant and its mother’s herd tries to rescue the pair.
When they are unable to do anything, the team – along with members of the Zambian Wildlife Authority – moves in while the herd waits on the other side of some trees.
With mud in the lagoon drying quickly, the rescue becomes a race against time. Eventually a rope is slipped under the calf’s trunk before the pulling can begin.
A couple of attempts are made to release the baby elephant but it wants to stay with its mother and goes back, getting stuck once again.
At one point, the baby elephant appears to be calling for help while his mother appears resigned to her fate before the rescue gets under way
Eventually, they pull the calf out further away from what could have been its muddy grave. It hears the cry of a cousin elephant and runs towards it.
Once the baby elephant is freed, the team works to help the mother who has become tired after all the thrashing around
Rachel McRobb from the team said: “Most conservationists believe that man should not meddle with the natural order and that we should allow nature to run her course however cruel or grim it seems to be. We agree on the whole, unless a wildlife problem has been created by man (for instance in the case of snaring or being trapped in a fence, in which case it’s justifiable to intervene) then nature should be left to her own devices. She has a plan.
“However – every rule has an exception and the dreadful plight of a baby elephant trapped in the mud of the Kapani Lagoon and her mother, who had also got stuck trying to save her yesterday had us all in a frenzy of activity. We simply could not stand by and watch them struggle and slowly die.”
Once the baby elephant is freed, the team works to help the mother who has become tired after all the thrashing around.
The mother elephant is tied to a tractor and, inch by inch, she makes her way to freedom. Eventually she is pulled from the mud and runs towards her baby and the waiting family.
2005 YU55, an asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier whistled past Earth at a distance of 202,000 miles away, slightly nearer than the moon, on November 8.
The asteroid is the largest such object to come so close in 35 years but NASA said ther is no chance of impact with the space rock known as 2005 YU55.
NASA has been monitoring the quarter-mile-wide asteroid as it approached Earth.
The researchers will now analyze radar images to uncover further details about the rock, which was first spotted in 2005 by the University of Arizona.
YU55 asteroid’ surface is coal black and it spins slowly through space. It travels at 30,000 mph and was last this close to Earth some 200 years ago.
The last time a large cosmic interloper came that close to Earth was in 1976, and it won’t happen again until 2028.
However, it was bad news for all but the most committed of stargazers. It was not visible to the naked eye – even at its closest point to Earth it was about 100 times dimmer than humans can observe naturally.
2005 YU55, an asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier whistled past Earth at a distance of 202,000 miles away, slightly nearer than the moon, on November 8
If somebody wanted to catch a glimpse of YU55 asteroid as it passed by, the person would have needed a telescope with an aperture of at least six inches and to be out of a city or away from any light pollution.
Sky & Telescope magazine published charts that show YU55’s progress through the constellations.
Scientists at NASA’s Deep Space Network in the California desert have tracked the quarter-mile-wide asteroid since last week as it approached from the direction of the sun at 29,000 mph (46,671 kph).
Yesterday, NASA offered two places to take a closer look at the action – Asteroid And Comet.
Scientists tracked YU55 with antennae of the agency’s Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California, and the Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico.
The Clay Center Observatory in Massachusetts planned an all-night viewing party so children and parents could peer through research-grade telescopes and listen to lectures.
The asteroid can’t be detected with the naked eye.
For those without a telescope, the observatory streamed video of the flyby live on Ustream, attracting several thousand viewers.
If an asteroid that size were to hit, the impact would carve a crater four miles (6.4 km) across and 1,700 feet (518 metres) deep. And if it slammed into the ocean, it would trigger 70-foot (21-metre) high tsunami waves.
The space experts recently estimated that more than 90% of the near-Earth asteroids wider than 0.6 miles have been identified, but that thousands of asteroids in YU55’s size range remain undetected.
For a lighthearted look at our close encounter, Facebook features countless event pages, and the asteroid even has its own Twitter account (@AsteroidYU55). Search for YU55 or #YU55 for a plethora of tweets.
At 11.11.11 on 11.11.11, the time and date will be a perfect same-numbered palindrome, reading the same backwards as forwards, an event which can only happen on one day every 100 years.
And even the most skeptic will stop for a moment to reflect on the unique occurrence, which will not come around again in the lifetime of most of us.
Among other things, 11.11.11 will be:
* Armistice Day, celebrated around the world.
* A day of spiritual significance for those who believe the number 11 has a mystical power.
* A very special day to get married or have a birthday (especially if it’s your 11th).
* Perhaps even the end of the world, according to some “prophecy” web forums.
The reason the date is so unusual is that 11.11.11 is the only double-figure palindromic date, since there is no 22nd month.
The last time it happened, on November 11 1911, an almost supernatural event saw temperatures drop by more than 60 F in a single day.
This was the Great Blue Norther, a cold snap which hit the U.S. causing blizzards and tornadoes as well as record falls in temperature.
In Kansas City, it was as warm as 76 F (24 C) in the morning – but this had dropped to 11 F (-12 C) by the end of the day.
A new film will be released on Friday, entitled simply 11-11-11, predicts that the day will see the opening of a portal in to Hell
A new film will be released on Friday, entitled simply 11-11-11, predicts that the day will see the opening of a portal in to Hell, and says: “On this day, innocent blood will spill.”
11-11-11 film by Darren Bousman, director of several entries in the Saw franchise, features a man whose family dies in a car crash at 11:11 a.m., and who then begins to be haunted by the number 11.
It plays on beliefs long held by some spiritualists, who say that the number has a special significance and claim that many people have a mystical attraction to the time 11.11.
One group believes that 11.11 is the special symbol of the “Spirit Guardians”, a group of 1,111 celestial beings who supposedly look after mortals and manifest themselves in mid-morning.
Most of those who have chosen this Friday as a day to get married are more attracted by the pleasing coincidence than by any deeper significance.
Wedding mania will be even more pronounced overseas, such as in India where thousands of couples have judged the date to be auspicious for a successful marriage.
The day will also be one of celebration for a number of children who will be turning 11 on 11.11.11.
Most famously, the 11th of November is Armistice Day in the UK – Veterans Day in the U.S. – when is celebrated the end of World War I and commemorate the victims of that war and subsequent ones.
The end of the Great War came on November 11, 1918. Given the carnage seen in the war, we can assume that the date was not deliberately chosen, but was simply the earliest possible opportunity for a ceasefire.
However, the decision to end the war at exactly 11 o’clock certainly was deliberate, at the Armistice was signed around five in the morning (Paris time), to take effect at the symbolic point a few hours later.
Tragically, fierce fighting continued right up until the official ceasefire, and one American soldier was killed at 10.58.
There is no real significance to the date 11.11.11 – not even at the time of 11.11.11 – but it is a classic example of apophenia, the human urge to see patterns in essentially random events.
The filmmaker Brett Ratner has resigned as producer of 2012 Academy Awards after he used a gay slur at a screening of his latest movie, Tower Heist.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says Brett Ratner, 42, submitted his resignation yesterday, one day after he apologized for using a gay slur.
According to Academy President Tom Sherak, Brett Ratner “did the right thing for the academy and for himself”.
Tom Sherak said: “Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable.”
Brett Ratner was named Oscar producer in August along with TV veteran Don Mischer.
The filmmaker issued an open letter explaining his resignation.
The letter read: “I called [the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president] Tom Sherak this morning and resigned as a producer of the 84th Academy Awards telecast.
“Being asked to help put on the Oscar show was the proudest moment of my career.
“But as painful as this may be for me, it would be worse if my association with the show were to be a distraction from the Academy and the high ideals it represents.”
Brett Ratner has resigned as producer of 2012 Academy Awards after he used a gay slur at a screening of his latest movie, Tower Heist
On Tuesday, Brett Ratner apologized for using a gay slur during a question-and-answer session at a screening for his new film Tower Heist.
Brett Ratner used a pejorative term to describe gay men in response to a question asked at a screening of his latest movie.
In his apology, Brett Ratner said sorry “for any offense my remarks caused”, adding that the slur was “a dumb and outdated way of expressing myself”.
Brett Ratner said that “as a storyteller I should have been much more thoughtful about the power of language and my choice of words”.
Initially Academy President Tom Sherak said Brett Ratner’s remarks were “inappropriate” – but said the academy had no plans to remove him from his Oscar-producing position.
Eddie Murphy, who worked with Brett Ratner on the new film, Tower Heist, was set to host the Oscars, but his role is now uncertain.
On Monday, Brett Ratner also recorded an expletive-laden interview with shock jock Howard Stern.
In the revealing interview, Brett Ratner discussed oral sex, masturbation and the size of his testicles.
The filmmaker admitted he was stunned he had never impregnated anyone because of his virility: “How lucky I am that I never got a girl pregnant. It’s crazy.”
Brett Ratner boasted a doctor had told him he had 10 times the sperm count of an average man his age.
He also claimed he asked Lindsay Lohan to get an STD test when they allegedly slept together when she was 19.
Brett Ratner praised her natural acting talent and claimed “everything f**ked up about her is because of her parents”.
Brett Ratner said: “I’m a hypochondriac. Before I go all the way, I send the girl to the doctor and check them for everything. My doctor has a test to tell if you’re going to catch something in the future even.”
It was not the first time Brett Ratner has shocked with his brash commentary.
He recently admitted to having had a fling with Olivia Munn – who had apparently referred to him in her book Suck It, Wonder Woman!: The Misadventures Of A Hollywood Geek.
In one visceral and nauseating paragraph, Olivia Munn, 31, recounts walking in on the movie big-wig – who she doesn’t name – while he was pleasuring himself.
She recalls: “A grown man in an oversized shirt holding his undersized manhood in hands glistening with shrimp fat.”
Speaking recently on G4’s Attack of the Show, Brett Ratner revealed the man in question was him, in an apparent shameless bid to drum up publicity for Tower Heist.
Brett Ratner said: “I used to date Olivia Munn, I’ll be honest with everyone here. But when she was <<Lisa>>.
“She wasn’t Asian back then, she was hanging out on my set of After the Sunset, I banged her a few times, but I forgot her.
“Because she changed her name I didn’t know it was the same person and so when she auditioned for me for a TV show.
“I forgot her, she got p***ed off, and so she made up all these stories about me eating shrimp and masturbating in my trailer.
“And she talked about my shortcomings.”
Brett Ratner’s bitter response is baffling, particularly his “before she was Asian” comment as Olivia Munn is Chinese on her mother’s side.
Jacqueline, an obese model whose picture was unwittingly used in an advertisement for an extra-marital affairs website has spoken out about the apparent “exploitation” of her body.
Jacqueline, the supersized model has slammed Ashley Madison and the advertising industry for “body shaming” and promoting infidelity.
Writing on Jezebel.com, Jacqueline, the U.S. size 32 model said the photo that was used in the ad was taken years ago and then unknowingly sold to picture agencies.
The image of Jacqueline’s body, scantily clad and languishing suggestively, then made its way into the offending marketing material for Ashley Madison, accompanied by the slogan “Did your wife scare you last night?”
The full-page ad recently appeared in New York Metro newspaper.
Jacqueline says the ad is yet another unwelcome case of body shaming.
Jacqueline, the supersized model has slammed Ashley Madison and the advertising industry for "body shaming" and promoting infidelity
“There is an enormous problem in this world in regards to female body shaming, and not solely in regard to fat women, but all women. A size 2 woman who sees this ad sees the message: <<If I don’t stay small, he will cheat>>.
“A size 12 woman might see this ad and think <<If I don’t lose 30lbs, he will cheat>>. A size 32 woman could see this ad, and feel <<I will never find love>>. It’s horrific,” Jacqueline writes on Jezebel.
Jacqueline believes the use of her photo “Contribut[es] to… widespread and creeping depression by suggesting, blatantly and without pretense, that fat people are patently undeserving of love and loyalty”, and deems the action “repulsive”.
To add insult to injury, body shaming, Jacqueline says, is being used to promote infidelity.
“I find the very idea that there exists a business based solely around the facilitation of infidelity appalling. The fact that they are now suggesting that a person’s partner not fitting their ideal body size/shape, entitles that person to <<shop around>> is disgusting,” Jacqueline writes.
“It’s bad enough that a business exists that encourages and profits from cheaters, but, worse still, that they have the gall to blame a woman’s body on the act, rather than the man who is incapable of commitment and loyalty.”
Jacqueline’s feelings toward the ad are unambiguous: “It exists in the same school of thought in which a rapist blames a woman’s outfit for his crime.”
The oversized model, whose “Big Beautiful Women” business is dependent on those who find obesity sexually arousing, is proud of her “supersize” sexiness. She is the star of pornography website, juicyjackie.com.
But there is a stark difference between those who choose to visit her BBW site and a public ad that is targeted at unloyal men, Jacqueline believes.
“I am a size 32. I am beautiful. I think women of all sizes are beautiful. Beauty is not and has never been one-size-fits-all. I do not appreciate my image being used, without notice or permission, to tell women I have never met otherwise.
“It is incumbent upon advertisers, and society at large, to act responsibly before foisting something like this onto the world.”
The man behind the controversial affairs website, Ashley Madison founder and CEO Noel Biderman, has responded to Jacqueline’s words.
“The best thing that could’ve happened to this woman is that we used her in our ad. Despite what she may want you to think, she is reaping the press for her own pornography website,” wrote Noel Biderman .
“She took these pictures and signed the release knowing that they were not just for <<personal use>>. However, if she can get great publicity from this, all the power to her.”
Ashley Madison has been criticized for its unusual – if not taboo-breaking – stance on extra-marital affairs. Noel Biderman defended the site on Business Week earlier this year, saying that the service, which links married individuals to potential sexual partners, is a way to save marriages.
“If I woke up and found my partner wasn’t interested in being with me sexually and I tried to do everything I could but sex was now off her radar…Well, sex is important in my marriage – it is – but it’s not No. 1 and it’s not No. 2,” he told the magazine.
“So I would stray before I would just leave, because maybe that would give me enough of what I need to stay within my marriage to do all the other things that are critical to me.”
A man from Illinois had a close brush with death when chainsaw blades nearly sliced his face off – and the tense moment was caught on live TV.
WTVW reporter Drew Gardner was doing a storm damage report in Carmi, Illinois, as a man was using a chainsaw near a fallen tree behind him.
But when the remains of a downed tree suddenly snapped back to earth, it took the chainsaw – and the terrified worker – with it.
The Illinois man can be seen being dragged by the chainsaw as the fast-moving blades come within inches of touching his face.
Despite falling into a ditch in the struggle, the man somehow held on to the chainsaw and did not appear to be hurt.
WTVW reporter Drew Gardner was doing a storm damage report in Carmi, Illinois, as a man was using a chainsaw near a fallen tree behind him
The man proceeds to get up and walk off like nothing happened, as Drew Gardner continues the weather report.
The tree was one of several in the area that fell during devastating storms, though the exact date of the broadcast could not be determined.
The video was uploaded to YouTube by Drew Gardner himself last week under the headline “Man Nearly Saws His Face During My Stand-up.”
Drew Gardner’s description read: “A man standing behind me has a dangerously close call with a chainsaw during my storm coverage story in Southern Illinois.
“Play the clip till the end and see it in slow motion.”
Holly Averyt, a truck driver who slipped and fell on ice and grease while making a delivery to a Wal-Mart store in northern Colorado can collect a nearly $10 million award after the state Supreme Court upheld a jury verdict in the case on Monday.
Holly Averyt, 41, from Cheyenne, Wyoming, had to undergo three spine surgeries and was unable to return to work and lost her truck.
The woman lawyers presented city documents during the original trial that showed some grease from the Wal-Mart store’s deli didn’t get trapped in a device designed to keep it from getting into the sewer.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., told jurors there had been no grease spill at the store in Greeley.
Holly Averyt with her attorneys
A jury awarded $15 million to Holly Averyt in November 2010: $5.5 million for non-economic losses, $4.5 million for economic losses and $5 million for physical impairment.
Wal-Mart appealed and a lower court granted the company a new trial, saying the award was “excessive, not supported by the evidence and could only be the result of prejudice and bias and the jury’s desire to punish Wal-Mart.”
Wal-Mart had also said in its appeal that Holly Averyt’s attorneys failed to disclose the city documents.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday threw out the order for a new trial, saying Holly Averyt’s attorneys had no requirement to disclose a document that could be easily found in public records.
The court also said any prejudice the jury may have harbored toward Wal-Mart was due to its initial refusal to produce evidence or admit the existence of the grease spill.
Justices reduced the award amount by about $5 million because of a state cap on non-economic damages.
Holly Averyt attorney Bob Miller said “justice was done” with Monday’s ruling.
Attorneys for Wal-Mart and a company spokesman didn’t return a call and email seeking comment.
